Quote:
Originally Posted by JMvS
Not exactly a surprise, as these mountains have been renowned for their mineral wealth (specifically, all kinds of gem and precious stones), which they owe to their extremely diverse and rich geological setting, given the sheer size of the country, it was bound to be filled with lots of mineral deposits.
Well... that doesn't bode well for peace. Just look at all those mineral rich countries in Africa which were plagued by civil and border wars for decades.
At least it doesn't appear that those resources would be able to fund civil war, like more "concentrated" riches, like diamonds, gold, coltan or even oil do.
But that's precisely the point: those riches require huge investments in infrastructure: large mining facilities (which would require large amount of energy as well as water), and extensive transport infrastructure, like highways and railroads. For those investments to be realized, peace is a prerequisite, not a consequence.
Or maybe we'll see Chinese and American interests invest hugely in securing and exploiting those specific areas, ignoring the rest of the country, plunder-economy style, as it's done elsewhere.
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I agree that mineral wealth is going to be a curse. The people of Afghanistan would be better off if the the only thing of value thier contain is dates and goats.
with Lithium being the new oil, even if the US withdraw someone else will move in. There won't be foreseeable peace in Afghanistan's future for the next few decades.